Layton Brothers Anthology
by Huskinata
Summary: Alfendi Layton's life is...interesting, to say the least. Series of oneshots.
1. Possibly A Bad Idea

**AN: **Series of oneshots of varying lengths about Alfendi and his family and friends. They take place at different times in his life. Requests! Suggestions!

"Let's go!" An excited Flora calls up the stairs as her brother tugs on his coat. Alfendi was starting to regret his decision.

He absolutely adored his sister, but when Alfendi suggested that Flora take the dance lessons that she's always wanted as a treat for her birthday he never thought that he would be dragged along.

"Flora, you're lucky I like you or I'd cut your feet off," he said, trying and failing to glare at her.

She giggled lightly and rolled her eyes before grabbing his arm and leading him out of the house. Flora suggested they take salsa lessons together and Alfendi reluctantly agreed.

Although his compliance was reluctant as the night progressed he found that he was having more fun than he had anticipated. Flora's face was alight with glee and Alfendi couldn't stop smiling because of it.

On the drive home in the Laytonmobile Flora looked to Alfendi in the driver's seat and said, "Thank you for coming with me Al, I had so much fun. You're a natural." Alfendi blushed and grumbled incoherently as he looked away. Flora just laughed.


	2. Respect

When they were kids they played a lot.

When he was not in the Americas, that is.

As they got older and Alfendi got meaner Luke stopped playing.

He took offense to everything.

Now that they're adults they respect each other,

and even ask each other for advice.


	3. All He Really Needed

Even though he was adopted he never felt out of place. The Layton residence was his home. He had a sister, and a father. Friends were rare but he had a few.

Flora started dating. Luke visited less. Father worked longer hours. And all Alfendi really had were crime shows.

He got a job as an Inspector- at Scotland Yard, no less. His father would call, Flora would visit, Luke sent letters.

After Forebodium he didn't see his family much, not that he thought about them really.

After Lucy healed him everything was perfect. He had his family back: he could look them in the eye. He had friends. He had Lucy.


	4. Serious Business

One day after finishing up a tough case Alfendi was filling out paper work when he heard a knock on the office door. He looked over to Lucy, who was busy filing away papers, to see if she was expecting anyone. She just gave a confused look and shrugged, so he opened the door.

"Surprise!" he heard several voices shout from the doorway. The person associated with one of these voices tackled him into a hug so hard it knocked the wind out of him. As he peeled the slender arms off him he looked down to see the face of his sister smiling warmly at him. Just past her he could see his father, Hershel Layton, and his former self-proclaimed apprentice, Luke.

Flora piped up, "We know you said you'd be too busy working to celebrate your birthday but we couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't bring you something! And look who came with us!" she said indicating the young man accompanying their father.

Alfendi hadn't seen them in a while and just had time to observe how much older his father had gotten when he heard Lucy spit-take from across the room.

"Prof! You didn't tell me it were your birthday!"

"I wasn't going to tell you because I knew you'd make a big deal out of it," he grumbled, rolling his eyes at his overly excited sister and the mess she'd caused.

Both men at the doorway stepped forward and Hershel said, "Happy Birthday son," with all the fatherly affection of a proud dad, while Luke gave a cheery "Happy Birthday, Al."

Flora gave him a small and perfectly wrapped box just as he felt Lucy place something on top of his head. He removed the offending object to take a look and found that it was a sheet of lined paper taped crudely into a cone. Nevertheless, he put the makeshift birthday hat back on and looked down at the gift in his hand.

"Go ahead and open it, 'Prof'," Flora said elbowing her brother cheekily. Alfendi gave her an irritated look and a playful shove before opening the present. Inside the box he found a coffee mug with a badge decal on it that read "Bikini Inspector."

"…Seriously?"

Lucy couldn't stop laughing.


	5. New Experience

How did he end up in this situation? He really couldn't understand how he got roped into babysitting his seven month old niece. Or maybe he did understand. Maybe it had to do with a certain sister of his calling him up at 5 o' clock that morning telling him that her babysitter had gotten sick. The day of her trip to the opera. So now Alfendi Layton, the least qualified person he could think of to care for an infant, was stuck babysitting. If he had any idea who this sick babysitter was, he'd cut off their tongue.

Then he thought of an idea: just take the child to work with him, until he remembered he had the day off.

As he paced the house in the few hours before his sister was to drop off her daughter he gave the matter considerable thought and came to the best conclusion. He rushed to his phone and dialed the number he needed, sincerely hoping his coworker was back from her regular morning jog.

"Ello, Baker residence," he heard Lucy answer on the other end.

"Lucy. I hope you're not busy. I was wondering if you could come over for a bit? It's kind of an emergency."

"Sure Prof! What time do you need me over there?" Lucy asked, ready to help the Prof at a moment's notice. He heard the doorbell ring and rushed a goodbye before hanging up unceremoniously.

Alfendi opened the door to see his sister holding her baby in her arms, a very large diaper bag hanging from her shoulder, and wearing a formal evening gown.

"I already fed and changed her but she'll need to eat again in a few hours- you'll know because she gets bite-y, and that's to the six. Soon after that she'll need to be changed. She's a little explorer so be careful, she can crawl around but don't let her get into anything. If you have any questions just call me. And thank you so much for doing this! I owe you one."

All of this was said in a rush and Alfendi's head was swimming. Still, she was in a hurry so he didn't want to keep her. He gingerly took the baby and its luggage and bade farewell to his sister before looking down at his gurgling niece. She was cute he had to admit.

He had just spread a blanket out on the floor and set little Violet down to crawl when the doorbell rang for the second time that day. Sighing with relief he looked back to make sure the baby wasn't going anywhere before opening the door.

He was greeted by a tired and out of breath Lucy, who looked like she had run all the way from her apartment to his house. On second thought, she very well may have.

"Geez, Prof! You scared me half to death! I sure hope yer okay."

Alfendi gave her a sheepish look before responding. "Sorry Lucy, I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm fine, but I have a dilemma and I need your assistance." He stepped aside to let her in and was assaulted by the sound of Lucy squealing. He quickly turned around only to see Lucy holding baby Violet out to him. "Do you see this cute face?"

"I do, actually." Alfendi responded. "And this home invader is precisely why I called you here."

"This was the emergency?" Lucy asked, thoroughly confused.

"I don't know the first thing about caring for an infant. I was hoping two heads would prove better than one."

Lucy chuckled and asked, "So, who is this little cutie?"

Alfendi hadn't really been expecting Lucy to back out of the challenge but he was grateful nonetheless that she didn't.

"This," Alfendi said, walking over to the baby and giving her an affectionate pat on the head, "is my niece, Violet. I have to watch her until my sister returns from the opera, which should be in about four hours."

"Right then, Prof!" Lucy rolled up her sleeves and mentally braced herself for the next four hours. From the look on Lucy's face Alfendi could tell it was going to be a long day.


	6. Naive

"Rock, paper, scissor, shoot!" They cried in unison.

"Ha! I win again. That'll teach you to mess with me you sniveling-"

"Hey! No fair, you put your hand out after I did."

"No I didn't! You lying little weasel, I'll cut your tongue out."

"Professor!"

"What?! You lost fair and square, so you have to go dress shopping with Flora; that was the deal. You can't just call Dad and expect him to get you out of every situation."

Just then Flora came down the stairs to find the two young men arguing.

"What are you two bickering about now?"

"Luke doesn't want to take you dress shopping but he lost fair and square."

"Tattle tale," Luke muttered under his breath.

"I swear, they're like children sometimes." Flora thought.

"Oh, that. I guess I forgot to tell you but the Professor is going to take me instead. Thanks anyway." And with that she skipped off down the hall, unaware of the death glares she was receiving.


	7. Bruised

"Look Prof, mistletoe." The inspector glared at his assistant before responding.

"Lucy, I don't think that's entirely appropriate considering our professional relationship."

"Aw, come on Prof! It wouldn't mean nowt. I'm just trying to get you into the holiday spirit. It's Christmas and you've been in a sour mood all day." And Lucy was determined to get to the bottom of it.

The reason for the placid inspector's mood, unbeknownst to his Detective Constable, was that last week Lucy had received a letter from his sister Flora inviting her over for Christmas. Alfendi couldn't believe his luck! How did Flora even get Lucy's address?

The reason this upset him was because he himself had planned to invite Lucy to his family's home for the holidays, if she didn't already have plans, but his sister beat him to it. His invitation would have seemed redundant and insincere afterwards.

"Fine," he relented. He glared at the offensive green plant hanging in the doorway but did not move to deliver the customary kiss. Lucy huffed before reaching up to give him a quick peck on the nose.

Just then the duo heard a click and saw a flash of light. They turned in unison to find Flora holding a camera and looking triumphant.

"That's one for the album." Lucy had jumped about a foot into the air and was recovering from the shock when Flora turned to introduce herself.

"Hello. Sorry for the fright. I'm Flora, Alfendi's sister. It's nice to officially meet you. I've heard lots about you from Al." she said with a sincere smile, hand outstretched to the detective constable. Lucy returned the handshake, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

"Ah well, I'd never get anywhere without the Prof guiding me," she said rubbing the back of her neck.

"That's not what he tells me." Flora said conspiratorially. Alfendi chose to ignore his sister's comment.

"Don't be so modest Lucy; you're a brilliant detective in your own right."

"Aw, thanks Prof." Lucy beamed at the praise and at this Flora giggled.

"Well come in then. Supper's almost ready."

"Any dishes from chef Reinhold?" Alfendi teased.

"No," she responded indignantly. "The professor wouldn't let me in the kitchen." Alfendi couldn't help laughing a little at the adorable pout on his sister's face before he remembered that he was supposed to be mad at her. He stopped laughing and Lucy noticed, making a mental note of this for later.

Lucy was also introduced to Alfendi's father, whom she found to be very sweet and engaging. Lucy fit right in with the Layton family and Alfendi observed that her speech and gestures became more animated as she got more comfortable.

As the evening wore on Alfendi's mood lightened up considerably. He had almost forgotten why he was mad in the first place. Until Flora brought it up, that is.

"I'm glad you came, Lucy. I was beginning to think Alfendi would never bring you over for all his talk on the matter." Alfendi knew this conversation was going to get embarrassing quickly. Lucy could sense his discomfort and tried to save face.

"Oh, well I'm sure he'd have introduced us eventually."

"Well it took him two years to introduce us to Hilda, and by then they'd already been dating for months." Alfendi nearly choked on his mouthful of food.

"Flora, may I speak to you in private?" Alfendi said in a dangerously calm voice.

"But-"

"Excuse us." He stood and ushered Flora into the next room. "What do you think you're doing?" he whispered heatedly.

"Al, I'm just making conversation. Clearly Lucy likes you well enough; I'm not going to scare her away with embarrassing stories."

He knew she was right but he just couldn't think straight. He tried to collect his thoughts. Why was he being so defensive? After a moment he came up with his answer.

Flora bringing up Hilda was like a slap in the face, not to this persona, but to his original. He knew his "Potty" side would have taken offense and acted in its stead. It was still a sore subject because Hilda broke up with his placid side, not his potty side. His true self never heard it in person. It was effectively like breaking up over text and it stunk.

Flora could practically see the inner struggle on her brother's face and slowly but surely put some pieces together.

"I'm sorry Al, I should have known better. I was being insensitive."

Alfendi could feel himself deflating a little. He knew she would never intentionally make him feel bad. "It's alright Flora. But mention it again at the table and, so help me, I will cut your tongue out."

Flora gave him a peculiar look at his more placid side's use of the familiar phrase, but relented with a sigh. "I won't Alfendi, I promise."

When they returned to the table Lucy was relating to their father an old case they had solved, something she really only did when she wanted to break an awkward silence. As Al sat down Lucy cast him a meaningful glance. He shrugged slightly in response before jumping into the conversation, adding details she had forgotten. Murders he could deal with, drama- not so much.


	8. Sometimes the Best Thing

**AN: **Yay! Another birthday fic. Alfendi being an introvert.

Alfendi loved and tolerated his friends and family as much as the next person but today, on his 32nd birthday, he just wanted to be alone. He wanted to warm up some tea and relax on his sofa with a book for hours until he fell asleep. Later he would make himself a nice dinner and catch up on some crime shows. He enjoyed the lack of stress that came with not having to be in public.

Comfortable, and alone.

His phone rang from across the room. He let it go to voicemail. He'd deal with his friends tomorrow; there was a Scooby Doo marathon on TV.


	9. Trip

"Luke's late," the inspector said, looking at his watch. He knew Luke should've just skipped work and taken the train with him to Bath. Now he was 87% sure Luke was lost. They were supposed to check out some places to take the professor for his birthday, namely Mr. B's Emporium of Reading Delights, the Roman baths, and the Original Theatre Royal and Masonic Museum, but Luke couldn't get the day off so he caught the train after Alfendi. He pulled out his phone to dial the other man.

"Hi, Al. I just got off the train. Where are you?"

"I'm already at the Roman baths. I thought you were going to catch the last train."

"Sorry Al. We'll fight about it later. How do I get to you?"

"I think you should stay there. I'll meet you at the train station."

Alfendi was halfway to the train station when he got another call.

"Hey, so I just realized I got off at the wrong stop." Alfendi could practically hear Luke wince. "Luckily I'm not that far off. I can be there in an hour." Somehow Alfendi doubted that.

After two hours of back and forth phone calls Alfendi and Luke finally met up at a café a little ways from their first stop on the list of potential surprises for the professor.

"Well that wasn't so bad, eh Al?"

"This is why I hate leaving the Mystery Room," the inspector said as he rubbed his sore legs. He would never understand how his other persona could enjoy in-person investigations.

They surveyed all the places and found them all to be suitable. They even quite enjoyed themselves, lingering at the bookstore for longer than was necessary to peruse the shelves and marveled at the Roman baths.

On the train ride back to London the two men engaged in pleasant conversation, exercising their intellect in debates about books they've read. It was a refreshing change from work and both appreciated the other's company. Once in London they said their goodbye's and began to part ways when Luke turned back to Al and called, "Oh yeah, remember what you asked me about the other day?"

For a moment the other man couldn't recall what Luke was referring to. Then he blinked as realization hit. His cheeks tinted pink, slightly embarrassed that his friend brought it up again, having hoped he hoped he had forgotten all about it. Luke laughed lightly, "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine."


	10. Musings

**AN: ** It might be a little OOC but I wanted to have fun and delve into Alfendi's more physical relationships, or lack thereof.

"Is it bad that I find my coworker attractive?" Alfendi found himself asking Luke over the phone one day. He wasn't sure how it came up but he was pretty sure he was starting to regret it.

"Not unless you do something about it." Luke was confused. "Wait, haven't you dated a coworker before? What's the problem?"

"The problem is that Lucy is my best friend and I don't want to date her. It's just so frustrating. I'm constantly getting distracted when she bends over to pick things up."

Alfendi thought back to earlier that day. Lucy was walking into the Yard a few steps ahead of him when she stumbled and nearly fell. She caught herself bent at the waist, arms out at her sides for balance. It was quite a comical sight thinking back on it.

"The poor dear tripped and all I could look at was her arse!" Alfendi let out an exasperated huff and Luke laughed loudly. He could hear Al's head banging against a table on the other end of the line.

Luke knew he was just being dramatic. If he cared enough to talk to him about it then he knew from experience there was nothing to worry about.

"I'm such a louse." Alfendi chided himself. Then he spoke up again, as if a thought just struck him. "Oh god. Please don't tell Flora about this." He'd never hear the end of it.

He told most everything to Flora, but she loved to tease her little brother when it came to this sort of thing. Luke laughed, knowing all too well what sort of things Flora would say and imagining the look on Al's face.

"Don't worry Al, I won't. And it'll be fine. Just take a cold shower or something." Alfendi nearly choked on his end of the line, but it seemed to knock some sense into him. When Luke was right, he was right, and he couldn't argue with good advice.


	11. Awkward

**AN: **Cliché, I know, but I love an embarrassed Alfendi.

Lucy was right on time. As she stood in front of Alfendi's door she mentally patted herself on the back. She knocked but he didn't respond, and she had left her cell at home so she couldn't call him to let him know she was there.

She pulled out a spare key from her pocket (the only reason she had it being that she ran an errand for him and had forgotten to return it) and entered the house. He was expecting her anyway.

"'Ello? Prof?" She called into the house from the doorway. Her ears finally picked up the sound of the water running and realized Alfendi was in the shower. It was the sound of his voice, however, that held her attention.

Lucy had always found Alfendi's voice rich and reassuring but his singing was something else. His tenor dipped and rose to a familiar melody and though he didn't quite hit all the notes it was very pleasing to the ears.

Now Lucy felt bad for coming in and invading his privacy, but if she left it would feel like she was being dishonest somehow, so instead she walked up to the bathroom door and knocked. All sound ceased from inside. [The water shut off quickly and Alfendi went quiet.]

"Oi, Prof. I'm here to drop off that file you wanted."

"…Okay," he said with a slight hesitation. "I'll be right out."

Lucy was fidgeting with discomfort and looked admittedly guilty. Alfendi got dressed quickly and greeted her in his living room, his face noticeably flushed. He wouldn't look at her directly.

Lucy had never seen the Prof embarrassed, and she was enjoying every second of it.


	12. New Experience Part 2

Violet squirmed in his arms. Alfendi huffed. Even at only eight months old Alfendi's niece knew how to be a handful.

"Not like that, Prof. Let me show you." Alfendi handed the baby to Lucy, grateful to be relieved of the fragile infant. "See?" Lucy said, cradling Violet. Al watched as Violet stopped trying to escape and reached out for one of the locks of Lucy's longer layers of hair.

Alfendi couldn't begin to describe how grateful he was to Lucy for this. He would freely admit that he panicked when his sister asked him to watch her child, despite his lack of knowledge or experience. The fact that Lucy so willingly came to his aid on such short notice was nothing short of amazing. She really was a lifesaver.

Alfendi started to prepare some lunch for the two of them as Lucy kept little Violet occupied. Throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening Lucy tended to the child's needs to the best of her ability, showing Alfendi in turn just how everything was done, and only referring to the internet a couple of times. Every once in a while Violet did something that scared the pair so much they had to look it up for fear of having done something wrong, only to find that it was typical infant behavior.

As the evening drew to a close and they were preparing Violet for her inevitable departure a disappointing thought occurred to Alfendi. He was just getting used to having Lucy in his usually lonely home and he rather enjoyed her company. With Violet gone Lucy would leave too, having no real reason to stick around for the night.

Lucy saw Alfendi staring at the baby contemplatively and said, "So Prof, when are we going to have one of our own?" She seemed to think this was a capital joke.

So much for good company. "…Get out," he said pushing her towards the front door. Just as he opened it there stood Flora poised to knock and a surprised look on her face. Her eyes drifted to Alfendi's hands, which were still on Lucy's back trying to push her out the door. In an instant her eyes lit up with a look of mischief and a wicked grin spread across her face.

"I'm sorry Al, I didn't know you had company." Just when he thought the night couldn't get any worse.


	13. Not So New Experience

For some reason Flora had the ridiculous idea that he was a good babysitter. Lucy, his partner in crime, was sick that day and probably the last thing he wanted to hear was that he would be babysitting his young niece Violet. He couldn't take the day off work so he decided to take her with him. That was a bad idea.

Unlike the last time he babysat her Lucy was not here to help him, so he was left to recall her teachings and use his own common sense. Also unlike last time Violet was now approaching two years old. This meant that she was old enough to walk her way into trouble but still needed a diaper change and couldn't quite communicate effectively.

Alfendi held her for some time reading through the case file as she drank from her bottle, but that didn't last very long. Soon she squirmed to be put down and toddled away on shaky legs. Alfendi didn't think much of it and continued to read until he remembered the stacks of files sitting on the floor of their office, obscured from view by the couch.

He bounded over to them and surely enough saw the little terror pushing against one with both hands, about to topple over the tower and most likely fall with it. He quickly scooped Violet up and adjusted the papers so they were slightly less precariously balanced before scrutinizing the child in his hands. She stared back and smiled; unaware of the grief she caused her uncle. Still, he did have a soft spot for her.

That smell, however, he could live without. He turned her around and checked her diaper, unsurprised but still disappointed by what he found. After obtaining some gloves from forensics he quickly changed and disposed of the diaper.

The few short hours he spent with his niece went by quickly and before he knew it Flora had arrived to pick her up.

"Never. Again." he said to his sister. She laughed. They both knew he was wrong.


	14. Inappropriate Workplace Behavior?

Hilda Pertinax was the most annoying person Alfendi Layton had ever met in his entire life. Every time he made a call she rebutted it with her own completely absurd ideas about how she thought the crime had happened. Of all the incompetent people he could get stuck with.

So maybe his first impression of her wasn't the best. He could see now that she's perfectly capable and knows what she's doing. 82% of the time Alfendi was still correct, but she gave good input. They bickered and teased each other constantly for it.

Then, one day, something peculiar happened. Justin had gone to get a coffee when Hilda, seemingly out of nowhere, bent down to retrieve a pencil she had dropped, calling Alfendi's attention to her ample posterior. Alfendi's mind kicked into overdrive. "That's not how you pick up a pencil. Is she doing that on purpose?"

She stood up and the moment passed. Alfendi got back to work, convinced that it must have been his imagination.

Later in the week Alfendi was struck again by the peculiarity of the situation when Hilda offered to get him some coffee from the break room, which was odd because he was sure she knew he drank tea not coffee.

"I don't drink coffee you idiot. Can't you see I bring tea in every morning, or do you know someone who steeps Earl Grey in their lattés? Maybe I should cut your eyes out since you don't seem to be using them."

"Tea it is then," she said simply and left.

"That's it?" Alfendi thought. "No witty comebacks or sarcastic remarks from the Queen of Sass herself?" Alfendi was 98.6% certain something was up; his best guess was menstruation, so he just shrugged it off. "It's probably nothing."

This next thing was definitely something. Alfendi and Justin were working in the office when Hilda returned from the break room with tea one day. She set her own cup on her desk before walking over to Alfendi's and leaning down ever so slightly as she placed the mug in front of him, showing the slightest bit of cleavage.

Alfendi's eyes widened and he looked up as she was beginning to walk away, catching a glimpse of mischief in her eyes. His gaze drifted to Justin, who looked just as surprised by what had happened. So he saw it too. Alfendi was definitely not imagining it. That was a pass.

"If she wants to play that game, I'll play that game." Alfendi thought to himself later that evening. He had never pursued a romantic relationship with a coworker before and wasn't sure what the Yard's policies were about it. Quite frankly, he didn't really care either. But was she looking for a romantic relationship, or was what she wanted purely physical? Alfendi hated not knowing.

"Focus on what you want first Al, then figure out the rest." If he was being honest with himself he really enjoyed their back and forth banter. She's clever and passionate, even if she did grate on his nerves. And she's quite the bombshell. He was going to go for it. It was a win-win no matter what it might be. Of course, he did consider how this would affect their professional relationship. They could talk about that together if things got that far.

During the following weeks Alfendi noticed other little things Hilda did to get his attention, including arguing on points he knew she agreed with just to get him mad at her.

"Clearly it was murder. There's no way he could have thrown himself off a balcony feet first."

"He jumped."

"Then how do you explain the rope tied around his ankles?"

"It was a slipknot! He faked the murder just to get people panicking."

"What about the signs of struggle? Your sequence of events doesn't make any sense."

"If your attention span is as short as your skirt it's no wonder we haven't solved the case yet."

"Well if your wit is as short as your-"

"Hilda, you have five seconds to stop talking before I cut out your tongue."

"Really? You can't differentiate a murder from a suicide, nonetheless get my tongue out of my mouth to cut it off."

"I could pull it out."

"What if I kept my mouth closed?"

Alfendi's voice dropped. "Then I would pin you down and make you scream."

The initial look of surprise on her face was quickly replaced by an unreadable one that sent a shiver down Alfendi's spine.

"I guess you could but I wouldn't make it easy."

"Should've known you'd prefer it the hard way."

"A challenge is always more rewarding in the end." Alfendi was inclined to agree with her. He could learn to like this.

When asked whether or not he saw it coming Justin Lawson would say that the sexual tension in the room was so thick you could hear the crackling in the air. The two of them got together within the next few weeks. Alfendi invited Hilda out for a coffee, despite the fact that he knew she drank tea, which got a laugh out of her. They both argued just as much with each other as ever, but Alfendi supposed some things never did change.

**AN:** Sorry about the dialogue. I have no experience with how a very angry person might flirt with a coworker, so again, if it sounds like sexual harassment in the workplace I apologize.


	15. Sick

Alfendi couldn't stand the forensics department at Scotland Yard, which in his mind consisted of a bunch of slackers and the head forensic analyst Florence Sich. He had nothing against Flo personally; he fully recognized that she was a competent individual, good at her job. She was also the only person there he could talk to that he didn't automatically want to kill for sheer stupidity. Flo was just mostly there for confirmation, as Alfendi and the Mystery Room were perfectly capable of providing evidence and deducing the criminal without the help of forensics. Whenever he stepped into that room it was a test of his very limited patience.

He had always felt a little guilty that he could go out on investigations while she was cooped up in the lab for hours when what she probably needed the most was some fresh air. These feelings never lasted long, however; his sympathy got shorter the longer he stayed in that room.

"Florence, I need this kitchen knife analyzed for blood and fingerprints."

"No problem Al. I'll have it ready for you in- achoo- a couple of hours." Reflexively Alfendi leaned back ever so slightly when she sneezed, and although it was directed away from him he couldn't help the look of mild disgust that crossed his face when she didn't cover her mouth and nose.

"Very good. And how are the negatives coming along? They should be the key to locking that twisted Barnaby behind bars." His look of excitement didn't escape Flo and she shrank back in her chair, glancing at him warily. At the same time she let out an involuntary sneeze, which garnered another look of disgust from the inspector. He gingerly pushed the box of tissues on her desk a bit closer to her.

"Thanks. The film is developing nicely; it looks like you'll have the evidence you need. These are some pretty incriminating- achoo- pic-"

"Goddammit woman! Sneeze one more time and I will personally remove your tonsils for you!" Alfendi couldn't take it anymore. He slammed the knifepoint down on the table just inches from where Flo's fingers rested. Her face was blanched and her eyes wide with terror, but he didn't catch her fearful countenance as he promptly turned to leave the room. Once her body and mind caught up to each other she was seized by another sneezing fit.

"And cover your mouth! That's disgusting." Alfendi shouted over his shoulder. Florence stared at the knife now lodged in her tabletop.


End file.
